Ruto: Boda boda are victims of rogue state

UDA William Ruto

Deputy President William Ruto. He will on March 15, 2022 walk into the Kasarani Stadium to secure the endorsement of UDA for his presidential candidature.

Photo credit: Joseph Kanyi | Nation Media Group

Deputy President William Ruto has said that the recent crackdown of the boda boda sector was a result of a weaponised state that does not respect its citizens.

Speaking during the UDA party National Delegates Conference (NDC) at Kasarani, Dr Ruto said that the crackdown of boda boda and big businesses was a result of a desperate state that had lost touch with the citizens.

"It is not just the Humphrey Kariuki, and Tabitha Karanja's of this world who have been tageted by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) but also the boda bodas who are just trying to earn a living.

The deputy president's comments come barely days after the government suspended the nationwide boda boda crackdown in all parts of the country except in Nairobi.

Police Spokesperson Bruno Shioso said this will allow a multi-sectoral committee to develop a suitable implementation framework.

This directive brings to an end a week-long crackdown meant to weed out rogue operators.The crackdown began on Monday night in Nairobi following the condemnation by Kenyans after a video of a woman being sexually harassed along Nairobi’s Forest Road went viral.Following the directive, operations have been conducted across the country. Boda boda operators and their motorcycles who are in violation of the traffic Act, the police said, have been arrested and arraigned.“To effectively coordinate the implementation of the exercise with minimum disruptions to the services offered by the compliant boda boda operators, the government has suspended the operation,” Mr Shioso said in a statement.“This will allow the multi-sectoral committee coordinating it to develop a suitable implementation framework,” he added.“This suspension shall not apply to the Nairobi Central Business District where the ban remains in force.”President Uhuru Kenyatta had last Tuesday ordered the crackdown of the operators.   “I want to refer to the video circulating. It was disheartening ... I have ordered a crackdown on all boda boda operators starting here in Nairobi and moving across the country,” President Kenyatta said then.The move was greeted with mixed reaction; as some hailed the move, while others criticised it.